Newsroom
Latest News
Effort Gains Momentum in Light of GM Recalls
WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are reviving efforts to strengthen the powers and resources of the nation's auto-safety regulators as they dig more deeply into why General Motors Co. waited almost a decade to recall vehicles with an ignition-switch defect.
General Motors said on Friday that it was expanding its ignition switch recall to include an additional 971,000 small cars worldwide that may have been previously repaired with defective switches.
G.M. is already recalling 1.62 million cars, made in the 2007 model year and earlier, to replace switches that could accidentally be jostled and cut off engine power, deactivating air bags.
DENVER (AP) — New General Motors CEO Mary Barra has been cooperative with members of Congress investigating why the company did not act sooner to address a potentially deadly defect in some of its small cars, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette said.
DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado who is the ranking member of the House committee investigating GM's recall of 1.6 million cars, said Friday that she appreciates Barra's responsiveness.
WASHINGTON—As he leads a congressional investigation into ignition defects in General Motors Co. GM -1.41% vehicles, Rep. Fred Upton might decide to look hardest at the auto maker's actions, or he might focus on regulatory lapses on the part of the federal government.
Whatever approach the Michigan Republican takes, he probably won't find it easy. GM is the largest company in Mr. Upton's home state. Regulators, who have faced budget constraints as well as criticism from his party, are likely to push back on questions about their oversight.
On Friday, as General Motors expanded a recall of cars with defective ignition switches linked to at least a dozen deaths, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette announced she will lead an investigation into the ongoing safety and commerce issue.
GM added 824,000 vehicles from years 2008-11 to the 1.6 million cars already recalled from 2003-07.
DENVER - General Motors' recalls of 1.6 million cars with potentially fatal flaws will face a congressional investigation led, in part, by a Colorado congresswoman.
The cars have a faulty ignition switch that could cause them to switch off while on the road.
The faulty switches led to 31 crashes and at least 12 deaths, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colorado) said during a Friday morning press conference.
"If one of my two daughters had this car, I would tell her to park it," she said.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is expected to announce Friday that she will lead an investigation into the matter of a General Motors recall of 1.6 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches.
DeGette, the ranking Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to detail the congressional investigation, her office said in a news release.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) joined Reps. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), and Tim Bishop (D-NY) in introducing the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act to prohibit the advertising of e-cigarettes to children.
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (CO-01), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) and Jared Polis (CO-02) signed onto a petition renewing their call to House Republican Leadership to allow a vote on H.R. 15, a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform measure.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects comprehensive immigration reform will lower deficits by $900 billion. Furthermore, the Center for American Progress estimates it will bring in more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy.
WASHINGTON – Today, the House Pro-Choice Caucus led a press conference to discuss the Supreme Court’s hearing of oral arguments in the cases of Hobby Lobby vs. Sebelius and Sebelius v. Conestoga Wood, where for-profit corporations are challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that private insurance plans cover birth control along with other preventive health services on the grounds that it violates the business owners’ religious beliefs.